Mary Corsaro is an associate tenured professor at Ithaca College and coordinator of the BFA in Musical Theatre since 1985. She received her B.S. in dance from Indiana University in Bloomington and her M.A. in dance education from New York University in New York City. She teaches Dance for the Musical Stage, Musical Theatre Workshop, Jazz Dance I and II and Tap Dance I. Mary has spent many years studying and researching early historical dance forms such as ragtime dance, 19th century ballroom dance, the lindy hop and numerous other period dances.
As a professional choreographer, she has a wide range of credits from musical theater and opera to concert dance. In New York City, she was assistant director and choreographer for the Off-Broadway production of A Christmas Carol starring Orson Bean. She has directed and choreographed for numerous regional and stock companies including the Porthouse Theatre Company in Ohio, the Jenny Wiley Summer Theatre in Kentucky, the Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre in Pennsylvania, and the Cider Mill Playhouse in New York.
Her work in opera includes Martha for the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center and the Baltimore Opera, Aida for the Indianapolis Opera, and the world premiere of Galileo-Galilei for the Tri-Cities Opera.
In the area of concert dance, Mary has worked with Dance Kaleidoscope, Indiana's professional contemporary dance company, creating the jazz work Acceleration for their repertory. Mary has directed and/or choreographed over 60 musicals in both professional and academic venues.
In addition to Ithaca College, Mary has taught and choreographed for Binghamton University, Cornell University, Ball State University, the Indianapolis High School for the Performing Arts, DePauw University, the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre and the Fort Wayne Ballet Company. She has also taught and coached throughout Germany and Switzerland at numerous performing arts academies. Most recently, Mary has been focusing on yoga teacher training in the Anusara style and has become a registered teacher at the 200 hour level with Yoga Alliance.